Lowering

[333morgan333]

Hi guys,
New 944 owner, recently picked up a half decent early 2.5, looking forward to getting stuck in!
Question is, has any one on here slammed theirs? Online I can only seem to find 30mm springs?
My other ride is down 130mm so this seems very subtle in caparison. Is there a reason for this? Anyone on air? Basically looking for good fitment, going to run some staggered rims to bring the back out and just don't want the dreaded arch gap. Also don't want to run massive wheels, preferably 17s,
Any info much appreciated !
I'm not asking for your opinion on lowering, just any info you may have on it cheers

Also if anyone has any pics of theirs on the 30mm springs is be grateful to see some

 

[ChasR]

Here's a picture of mine. It's on 17" wheels and lowered alot! However, the rear wheels are not staggered (they can be staggered on the earlier cars where the wheels had less offset and more dish:

https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10446093_10152127165825843_707485712815547627_o.jpg

The main reason why people do not lower their 944 is so that the drivability is not upset too much. Whilst mine does drive very well, it would possibly be a little nicer with 10mm more travel. That and speed bumps are fun along with cambered back roads.

 

[T3rra]

Sump on these is already quite low. Stock ground clearance is 5/6" I believe. Iv had my last 944 on coil overs on my turbo iv left them on the factory set up but its lower then stock. the main restraint is the rear torsion bar, to fully lower them you need to remove the torsion bar and use Coilovers which require some susport work as them points wernt design to take that load. However on 18" wheels and Gaz golds my car came back to me with the rear tires completely in the arch. I sent it back as it was to low and the camber was aggressive due to the torsion bars at max adjustment. And was ment to be a road race set up and corner weighted.

In short you will require full coil overs to get a proper drop. I like mine with a slight gap above tire about fingers thickness and sporting 18" this solves the empty arch issue.

 

[333morgan333]

ORIGINAL: ChasR

Here's a picture of mine. It's on 17" wheels and lowered alot! However, the rear wheels are not staggered (they can be staggered on the earlier cars where the wheels had less offset and more dish:

https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10446093_10152127165825843_707485712815547627_o.jpg

The main reason why people do not lower their 944 is so that the drivability is not upset too much. Whilst mine does drive very well, it would possibly be a little nicer with 10mm more travel. That and speed bumps are fun along with cambered back roads.

Hah I know what you mean about cambered back roads , I catch the engine of my bus far to often ! What setup have you gone with to lower yours then bud? I was thinking a bit lower but I think these cars have a naturally high look about them unfortunately. Could live with it at a similar height to yours tho I reckon, especially if I got a bit more poke on the back (personal taste)
Lovely car btw!

Going to attempt to link some pics of the car and my other ride, hopefully it works !

 

[George Elliott]

333 mm lower would be nice [][][][][][]

I'm thinking of raising mine a foot

no images yet sorry

hope yours works out well [][][][][]

 

[andy watson]

Spax coilovers but without rear springs fitted, re-indexed torsion bar about 35mm drop.
Great on track, careful over speed bumps on the road []

 

[944Scott]

Another lowered on Spax (coilover fronts, indexed rear)

Speed humps are no problem, even with my aftermarket exhaust that hangs lower than the original.

 

[scam75]

Mine's down about 60mm on GAZ Gold. VERY careful over speed bumps, some still get you anyway, and occassional grounding of the rear arch plastic extensions on aggressive cornering but handles well. Would not go any lower. Like Chas, prob back up 10mm would be perfect. Pic is in avatar.

Stuart

 

[ChasR]

I am on KWv3s. IIRC I think the rear beam can be re indexed (this involves dropping down the rear beam so as to do this) and a set of coilovers (Spax and Gaz will work here as well) to get a level similar to scam75's and my car.

By simply touching the eccentric adjusters on the rear some lowering can be done but it will not be as dramatic a drop (probably not as low as AndyWatson's car for example).

Thank you for your comments. Here are your photos :

 

[944 man]

Slammed?

 

[333morgan333]

Thanks for all the replies guys!
Liking the sound of the height adjustable spax I think so whatever wheels I end up with I can make the car fit them well.
Do second hand sets ever pop up? Also what sort of coin should I be looking to pay for a set new? Thanks 👍

 

[ChasR]

From what I can tell:

-Secondhand Spax kits are few and far between (not many have bought their kits until now) These are around £500 new
-Gaz kits may come up secondhand - IIRC these are around £800+ new
-KWv3s do come up but very rarely. This is reflected in the price they come up for (IIRC they come up for around £800-1k secondhand and tend not to hang around for long from what one owner said). These are around £1.4k new
-M030 (the factory coilover option) is another way you can go (as has another member on a car with a particular Lux fitted with a Turbo engine and on Azevs). These are now not as cheap as they used to be, probably due to owners wishing to return their cars to standard. Quite a few of these may also be in need of rebuilding (the front shocks ; I seem to remember that a fresh set of M030s do not ride anywhere near as harsh as tired ones). This can become an expensive exercise.

If it were me, as much as I love my KWs (the car is actually very drivable for how low it is and surprisingly comfortable relatively speaking) I would probably go for the Gaz items myself after going in Carrera RSR's car. I am told his car drives better since it had a trip to Centre Gravity in terms of all of the aspects (ride quality and handling) but bang per buck I would they are probably the best bet from what I have seen with them. AndyWatson would be the man to talk to about Spax suspension.

 

[CarreraRSR]

Talking of slamming Porsche on a PCGB forum? Whatever next! Body kits and nitrous?! []

 

[944 man]

Stancing. I can hardly contain myself.

 

[colin944]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Stancing. I can hardly contain myself.

If this is the way 944's are going then I'm going to buy another car. I don't want anything to do with ultra lowered cars. If that's your bag then go and buy a golf or a jap crap box.

 

[333morgan333]

As I said in the original post, im not looking for your opinions ^^^

 

[edh]

You need to read up on the rear suspension setup - any major lowering needs to be done with the torsion bars. Otherwise it's a bit of lottery how low you'll get. BTW if you use coilovers on the rear, they will raise the rear, and unless you remove the torsion bars completely you won't be able to use them to set ride height.

Mine without re-indexing of torsion bars

I think racecar-low looks good on a 944 - check out some pictures of 924 and 944 racers for inspiration..and then go & make yourself a sump guard []

 

[333morgan333]

ORIGINAL: edh

You need to read up on the rear suspension setup - any major lowering needs to be done with the torsion bars. Otherwise it's a bit of lottery how low you'll get. BTW if you use coilovers on the rear, they will raise the rear, and unless you remove the torsion bars completely you won't be able to use them to set ride height.

Mine without re-indexing of torsion bars

I think racecar-low looks good on a 944 - check out some pictures of 924 and 944 racers for inspiration..and then go & make yourself a sump guard []

Yea yours looks good mate, so are you just lowered to the max adjustment on the back then? What set up do you have up front? Cheers

 

[andy watson]

ORIGINAL: colin944

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Stancing. I can hardly contain myself.

If this is the way 944's are going then I'm going to buy another car. I don't want anything to do with ultra lowered cars. If that's your bag then go and buy a golf or a jap crap box.

Colin, what a daft statement you don't have to have anything to do with ultra low cars, you can keep yours how you want, not all Golfs are lowered or slammed and neither are all Jap cars crap boxes!

And not a very good way to treat a new member showing some interest and looking for advice, not criticism.

 

[colin944]

ORIGINAL: andy watson

ORIGINAL: colin944

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Stancing. I can hardly contain myself.

If this is the way 944's are going then I'm going to buy another car. I don't want anything to do with ultra lowered cars. If that's your bag then go and buy a golf or a jap crap box.

Colin, what a daft statement you don't have to have anything to do with ultra low cars, you can keep yours how you want, not all Golfs are lowered or slammed and neither are all Jap cars crap boxes!

And not a very good way to treat a new member showing some interest and looking for advice, not criticism.

Fair enough Andy that's your opinion.